Assess the view that sociology can and should be seen as a science

Extracts from this document...

Introduction

Assess the view that sociology can and should be seen as a science (33) Sociology is seen by some as a science, where facts can be obtained by collecting date etc. Sociology is actually referred to as a social science, along with other subjects like politics and economics. Sociologists in the 19th century believed that by using the rules and logic of the 'scientific method' it could be applied to sociology the same way as it is applied in the natural sciences. The subjects that are known as sciences are, subjects like chemistry and biology, which involves explanations and reasons. However, before anyone can begin to consider if sociology can be described as a science, it has to be made clear what is meant by a science. The general explanation of science is, a way of understanding and explaining the world. When studying something in science, a scientific method is used. ...read more.

Middle

Also, more people look into science now instead because religion has lost its significance. However sociologists can contradict this argument with rationalisation. As explained above, people want proof within their belief system, but science cannot explain miracles. Some scientists disagree that science should be given a special status and all other forms of knowledge disregarded. Gould (1999) proposes that science and religion are two separate realms. Science provides certain knowledge about the world, whereas moral guidance is the responsibility of religion. This is a relativist view, which sees science as just one of many beliefs, all of which are equally valid. They agree to a certain extent that sociology is and should be seen as a science. Realists claim that positivists and popper have failed to define science accurately. They believe that science can have a lack of precision, for example, doctors cannot predict with a certainty who will become ill, and sociology has similar problems. ...read more.

Conclusion

It follows that if we want to understand peoples' actions we have first to understand them in the way that the participants do. Some sociologists believe that science has no more claims on the truth than any other belief system. Scientists are human beings at the end of the day, and no human being can be 100% correct. Also, all scientists will be subjective in their research, even if they say they are not. Anti-Positivist, Kuhn says that sociology should not be seen as a science because sociologists do not agree on one accepted paradigm. Postmodernists believe that science is just a Meta narrative claiming to provide comprehensive explanations of the world, and also claim a monopoly of truth. They believe that science has lost its authority in society, as it has failed to provide cures for many of the killer degenerative diseases in western society, such as cancer and heart disease. ...read more.

Related AS and A Level Crime & Deviance essays

Social facts are the values, cultural norms, and social structures external to the individual. Social facts can be directly observed and measured. Positivists look for correlations in Data, and cause and effect relationships. To do this, they use quantitative data and methods such as questionnaires in order to gain trends, patterns and correlation.

John Fitzgerald was one of those people; he confessed on the 26th September to the murder of Annie Chapman and was released 3 days later. During those 3 days, was on most tabloid front-page headlines until he was released. On the 27th September, a letter beginning with "Dear Boss" and

According to Woodward (2004, p 13) George Herbert Mead, social philosopher, argued that, "identity formation is a combination of how I see my self and how others see me". He places emphasis on symbolic representation. Whereas, Erving Goffman, sociologist, argued that individuals have multiple roles as opposed to multiple identities which are acted out in everyday situations.

They believe that sociology deals with peoples thoughts and opinions and that they seek to uncover these using qualitative methods. Some interpretivists say that some laws cannot be applied to humans as we are all individuals, with individual thoughts, motives and experiences.

* The Sarah Payne case (detailed above) involved strands of Sarah's hair found on Roy Whitting. Non - Biological evidence is trace evidence which the suspect has left at the scene of a crime or can link the suspect with the crime in question, these are as follows: * Fibres

The positive school sees criminal behaviour not as self-determined, but as due to mental deficiency, emotional disorder, or other biological or cultural factors. The critical school is more concerned with who defines crime, and how; scholars taking this approach study the processes by which sets of people (those in power)

Woman are seen to be soft, and therefore are controlled by men. "The sociology of housework", (Ann Oakley's study) compared the work of housewives to car production line workers in factories. Housewives work approximately 72 hours every week, longer than workers in factories.